King James Version
Jeremiah 31
40 verses with commentary
The New Covenant
At the same time, saith the LORD, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.
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KJV Study Commentary
This opening verse introduces the restoration oracles of chapters 30-33, often called the 'Book of Consolation.' After chapters of judgment, God now promises comprehensive restoration: 'I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.' This is covenant language echoing God's promise throughout Scripture—'I will be your God, and you will be my people' (Exodus 6:7; Levit...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
XXXI.
(1) **The God of all the families of Israel.**—The union of the ten tribes of Israel and the two of Judah is again prominent in the prophet’s mind. He cannot bear to think of that division, with its deep lines of cleavage in the religious and social life of the people, being perpetuated. Israel should be Israel. This is the crown and consummation of the promise of Jeremiah 30:24.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse evokes the Exodus, when Israel escaped Pharaoh's sword and found grace in the wilderness at Sinai. The remnant that survives Babylon's sword will experience a new exodus, finding grace in their own wilderness journey. The phrase 'even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest' points to the Promised Land, the place of rest God gave His people after wilderness wandering (Deuteronomy 12:9-...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **The people which were left of the sword . . .**—The main thought of this and the next verse is that the past experience of God’s love is a pledge or earnest for the future. Israel of old had “found grace in the wilderness” (comp. Hosea 11:1). But as the prophet has in his thoughts a new manifestation of that love, his language is modified accordingly. He thinks of the captives that had escap...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 66 Is 66:1-24. The Humble Comforted, the Ungodly Condemned, at the Lord's Appearing: Jerusalem Made a Joy on Earth.
This closing chapter is the summary of Isaiah's prophecies as to the last days, hence the similarity of its sentiments with what went before.
**1. heaven ... throne ... where is ... house ... ye build--**The same sentiment is expressed, as a precautionary proviso for the ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. of: Heb. from afar with lovingkindness: have I extended lovingkindness unto thee
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse is one of Scripture's most profound declarations of God's covenant love. 'The LORD hath appeared of old unto me' references God's past revelations to Israel—at Sinai, in the tabernacle, through prophets—establishing continuity with covenant history. The divine declaration 'I have loved thee with an everlasting love' uses the Hebrew ahavah (אַהֲבָה), denoting covenant loyalty, choosing l...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **The Lord hath appeared of old unto me . . .**—The Hebrew adverb more commonly refers to distance than to time. *From afar the Lord appeared unto me. *The thought is that of a deliverer who hears the cry of his people in the distance, and then draws near to help them. Jehovah enthroned in Zion, or in the heaven of heavens, hears the cry of the exiles by the waters of Babylon or Nineveh.
**The...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. have been--**namely, made by Me. Or, absolutely, were things made; and therefore belong to Me, the Creator [Jerome].
**look--**have regard.
**poor--**humble (Is 57:15).
**trembleth at ... word--**(2Ki 22:11, 19; Ezr 9:4). The spiritual temple of the heart, though not superseding the outward place of worship, is God's favorite dwelling (Joh 14:23). In the final state in heaven there shal...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry. tabrets: or, timbrels
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel</strong>—the double emphasis עוֹד אֶבְנֵךְ וְנִבְנֵית (<em>od evnekh v'nivneit</em>, 'again I will build you and you shall be built') combines divine action with resultant state. God as builder (cf. Psalm 127:1) reverses His role as demolisher (Jeremiah 1:10). The title <strong>virgin of Israel</strong> (בְּתוּלַת יִשְׂרָ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets . . .**—The implied idea is that of a time of rejoicing after triumphant restoration (the “building” of the previous sentence is more than that of material walls and towers), when the daughters of Israel (as in Exodus 15:20; Judges 11:34; 1Samuel 18:6; Psalm 68:11) should again go forth with “timbrels and dances,” with tabrets and joy and instrume...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
3. God loathes even the sacrifices of the wicked (Is 1:11; Pr 15:8; 28:9).
**is as if--**Lowth not so well omits these words: "He that killeth an ox (presently after) murders a man" (as in Eze 23:39). But the omission in the Hebrew of "is as if"--increases the force of the comparison. Human victims were often offered by the heathen.
**dog's neck--**an abomination according to the Jewish law (D...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things. eat: Heb. profane them
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria</strong>—the verb עוֹד תִּטְּעִי (<em>od tit'i</em>, 'you shall yet plant') promises agricultural restoration specifically in <strong>Samaria</strong>, the Northern Kingdom's capital, destroyed by Assyria (722 BC). This prophecy transcends political division: God will reunite Israel and Judah (31:27-28, 31). Vineyard imagery evokes I...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria . . .**—The mention of Samaria shows that the prophet is thinking of the restoration of the northern kingdom, as well as of Judah, under the rule of the true King. In the Hebrew words “shall eat them as common things” we have a singular train of associations. The primary meaning of the verb is to “profane.” The rule of Leviticus 19:23-...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. delusions--**(2Th 2:11), answering to "their own ways" (Is 66:3; so Pr 1:31). However, the Hebrew means rather "vexations," "calamities," which also the parallelism to "fears" requires; "choose their calamities" means, "choose the calamities which they thought to escape by their own ways."
**their fears--**the things they feared, to avert which their idolatrous "abominations" (Is 66:3) were...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the LORD our God.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the LORD our God.</strong> This prophetic promise envisions a future reunification of Israel's divided kingdom. <em>Watchmen</em> (נֹצְרִים, <em>notzerim</em>) were sentinels posted on elevated positions to announce pilgrims' arrival or warn of danger. Here they become hera...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **The watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry . . .**—The special fact is given as the ground of the previous prediction. The two kingdoms should be united, and therefore the possession of the vineyards should be undisturbed. The city of Samaria stood on one of the mountains of Ephraim. The “watchmen” may be either the sentinels stationed in the towers of the city, or, more probably, those t...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. tremble at ... word--**the same persons as in Is 66:2, the believing few among the Jews.
**cast you out for my name's sake--**excommunicate, as if too polluted to worship with them (Is 65:5). So in Christ's first sojourn on earth (Mt 10:22; Joh 9:22, 34; 16:2; 15:21). So it shall be again in the last times, when the believing shall be few (Lu 18:8).
**Let the Lord be glorified--**the mock...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-9** They have been backsliding children, yet children; let them return, and their backslidings shall be healed, though they have sunk deep into misery, and cannot easily recover. Many make an idol of their silver and gold, and by the love of that are drawn from God; but those who turn to God, will be ready to part with it. Then, when they have cast away their idols, shall the Assyrian f...
Read full commentary →For thus saith the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For thus saith the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.</strong> This verse commands celebration for restoration that is both certain (prophetic perfect tense) and intercessory (prayer for salvation). <strong>Sing with gladness</strong> uses <em>rinnah</em> (רִנָּה), a j...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Shout among the chief of the nations . . .—**Better, *Shout over the head of the nations, i.e., *over Israel. It would seem from Amos 6:1 as if this was a title specially claimed by the kingdom of the Ten Tribes. (Comp. Exodus 19:5; Leviticus 20:24; Leviticus 20:26; Deuteronomy 7:6; Deuteronomy 26:19.) The prophet, in his vision of the future, calls even on the heathen (see Jeremiah 31:10) t...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
6. God, from Jerusalem and His "temple," shall take vengeance on the enemy (Eze 43:1-8; Zec 12:2, 3; 14:3, 19-21). The abrupt language of this verse marks the suddenness with which God destroys the hostile Gentile host outside: as Is 66:5 refers to the confounding of the unbelieving Jews.
**voice of noise--**that is, the Lord's loud-sounding voice (Psa 68:33; 29:3-9; 1Th 4:16).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-9** They have been backsliding children, yet children; let them return, and their backslidings shall be healed, though they have sunk deep into misery, and cannot easily recover. Many make an idol of their silver and gold, and by the love of that are drawn from God; but those who turn to God, will be ready to part with it. Then, when they have cast away their idols, shall the Assyrian f...
Read full commentary →Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither.</strong> This verse promises comprehensive restoration that reverses the exile. <strong>I will bring them from the north country</strong> specifically add...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **And with them the blind and the lame . . .**—The vision of restoration continues, and the prophet sees in the spirit the great company of those that return. Even those who are commonly left behind in such an expedition, as incumbrances hindering its march, the blind, the lame, the women with child or in the very pangs of childbirth, will be seen in that company. None shall remain behind. The...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. she--**Zion.
**Before ... travailed ... brought forth--**The accession of numbers, and of prosperity to her, shall be sudden beyond all expectation and unattended with painful effort (Is 54:1, 4, 5). Contrast with this case of the future Jewish Church the travail-pains of the Christian Church in bringing forth "a man child" (Re 12:2, 5). A man child's birth is in the East a matter of specia...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-9** They have been backsliding children, yet children; let them return, and their backslidings shall be healed, though they have sunk deep into misery, and cannot easily recover. Many make an idol of their silver and gold, and by the love of that are drawn from God; but those who turn to God, will be ready to part with it. Then, when they have cast away their idols, shall the Assyrian f...
Read full commentary →They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. supplications: or, favours
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KJV Study Commentary
God describes the remnant's return: they come weeping with supplications (prayers), and God Himself leads them. These are tears of repentance, grief over sin, and joy at restoration. The phrase 'I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters' promises provision during their journey—unlike the historical return which faced hardship, the ultimate restoration will lack nothing. 'In a straight way,...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **They shall come with weeping . . .**—The present version agrees with the Hebrew punctuation, but a slight change would give, *They shall come with weeping and with supplications; I will lead them; I will cause them to walk** . . .** *The procession of those whom the prophet sees with his mental eye is that of those who weep tears of sorrow for the past, of joy for the present, and pour out p...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. earth--**rather, to suit the parallelism, "is a country (put for the people in it) brought forth in one day?" [Lowth]. In English Version it means, The earth brings forth its productions gradually, not in one day (Mr 4:28).
**at once--**In this case, contrary to the usual growth of the nations by degrees, Israel starts into maturity at once.
**for--**rather, "is a nation born at once, tha...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-9** They have been backsliding children, yet children; let them return, and their backslidings shall be healed, though they have sunk deep into misery, and cannot easily recover. Many make an idol of their silver and gold, and by the love of that are drawn from God; but those who turn to God, will be ready to part with it. Then, when they have cast away their idols, shall the Assyrian f...
Read full commentary →Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.
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KJV Study Commentary
God commands the nations to hear and declare His word—specifically, that 'He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.' This is a missionary charge: the nations must proclaim what God is doing for Israel. The 'isles afar off' represent the remote regions of the earth, showing that God's restoration of Israel has universal significance. The nations must witn...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **Declare it in the isles afar off . . .**—The “isles” appear here, as in Psalm 72:10, Isaiah 40:15; Isaiah 41:1; Isaiah 49:1; Isaiah 66:19, as the vague representative of the distant lands of the west—sometimes (as in Numbers 24:24; Jeremiah 2:10) with the addition of Chittim. Of the isles so referred to, Cyprus and Crete, so far as any definite localities were thought of, would probably be ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9. cause to bring forth, and shut--**rather, "Shall I who beget, restrain the birth?" [Lowth], (Is 37:3; Ho 13:13); that is, Shall I who have begun, not finish My work of restoring Israel? (1Sa 3:12; Ro 11:1; Php 1:6).
**shut--**(compare Re 3:7, 8).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse uses two crucial redemption terms. 'Redeemed' (<em>ga'al</em>, גָּאַל) refers to the kinsman-redeemer who buys back family property or redeems enslaved relatives (as Boaz did for Ruth). 'Ransomed' (<em>padah</em>, פָּדָה) means to pay a price for release from bondage. Both terms emphasize that Israel cannot free themselves—they need a Redeemer who is both willing and able to pay the pri...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob . . .**—Of the two verbs “redeem” and *“*ransom” here used, the first expresses the act of setting free, the other that of acting as the *goel, *or nearest kinsman, who was not only the liberator, but the avenger of those to whom he stood in that relation. (Comp. Numbers 35:19; Deuteronomy 19:6; 2Samuel 14:11; Isaiah 59:20; Psalm 19:14.) The idea of a “ranso...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10. love ... mourn for her--**(Psa 102:14, 17, 20; 122:6).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse paints a picture of comprehensive restoration and joy. The returned exiles will 'sing in the height of Zion'—worship on God's holy mountain. They will 'flow together' (<em>nahar</em>, נָהַר), a word suggesting streaming like a river, united movement toward God. The object of their gathering is 'the goodness of the LORD'—specifically His material provision: wheat, wine, oil, flocks, and ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12-14) **Therefore they shall come and sing . . .**—The vision of return culminates in a picture of the prosperity of the restored kingdom. The “goodness of the Lord” is, as in Hosea 3:5, the attribute on which the prophets love to dwell, as shown in all forms of outward abundance. The picture, always among the brightest which an Eastern mind can draw, of a “watered garden” (comp. Isaiah 51:3; Is...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11. suck--**(Is 60:5, 16; 61:6; 49:23).
**abundance--**Hebrew, "the ray-like flow of her opulence," that is, with the milk spouting out from her full breasts (answering to the parallel, "breast of her consolations") in ray-like streams [Gesenius].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together.</strong> This prophetic vision depicts the restoration of joy to Israel after judgment and exile. The Hebrew word for "virgin" (<em>betulah</em>, בְּתוּלָה) represents young unmarried women, while the mention of "young men and old together" emphasizes the comprehensive, multi-generational nature of this restoratio...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12. extend--**I will turn peace (prosperity) upon her, like a river turned in its course [Gesenius]. Or, "I will spread peace over her as an overflowing river" [Barnes], (Is 48:18).
**flowing stream--**as the Nile by its overflow fertilizes the whole of Egypt.
**borne upon ... sides--**(See on Is 60:4).
**her ... her--**If "ye" refers to the Jews, translate, "ye shall be borne upon their s...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD.</strong> This promise addresses both spiritual leaders and the entire community, using imagery of abundant provision. <strong>I will satiate</strong> translates <em>ravah</em> (רָוָה), meaning to saturate, drench, or abundantly satisfy—used of land soaked with rain (I...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13. mother--**(Is 49:15).
**comforteth--**(Is 40:1, 2).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.</strong> This haunting verse captures national grief through the image of Rachel, ancestral mother of Joseph and Benjamin, weeping for her descendants. <strong>Ramah</strong> was the assembly point where Babylonian...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **A voice was heard in Ramah.**—The sharp contrast between this and the exulting joy of the previous verse shows that we are entering on a new section which repeats in altered form the substance of the foregoing, presenting in succession the same pictures of present woe and future gladness. The prophet sees first the desolation of the captivity. Rachel, as the mother of Joseph, and therefore ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**14. bones--**which once were "dried up" by the "fire" of God's wrath (La 1:13), shall live again (Pr 3:8; 15:30; Eze 37:1, &c.).
**flourish ... herb--**(Ro 11:15-24).
**known toward--**manifested in behalf of.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.</strong> This verse directly answers Rachel's weeping in v. 15 with divine comfort and promise. <strong>Refrain thy voice from weeping</strong> uses <em>mana</em> (מָנַע), meaning to withhold or restrain—not su...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **Thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord.**—Literally, *there-shall be a reward for thy work. *The words are a reproduction of the old prophecy of Azariah, the son of Oded (2Chronicles 15:7). Rachel, personifying the northern kingdom, perhaps even the collective unity of all Israel, is thought of as labouring in the work of repentance and reformation, as with a mother’s care, and is comfo...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
15. (Is 9:5; Psa 50:3; Ha 3:5; 2Th 1:8; 2Pe 3:7).
**chariots ... whirlwind--**(Jr 4:13).
**render--**as the Hebrew elsewhere (Job 9:13; Psa 78:38) means to "allay" or "stay wrath." Maurer translates it so here: He stays His anger with nothing but fury," &c.; nothing short of pouring out all His fiery fury will satisfy His wrath.
**fury--**"burning heat" [Lowth], to which the parallel, "f...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border.</strong> This verse continues comforting Rachel (and through her, all Israel) with concrete promises of restoration. <strong>There is hope</strong> (<em>yesh tikvah</em>, יֵשׁ־תִּקְוָה) uses <em>tikvah</em>, which means expectation, hope, or even a cord/thread (same word for Rahab's scar...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **And there is hope in thine end . . .**—Better, *There is hope for thy future. *The words are the same as in Jeremiah 29:11, where the English version has “an expected end.” The hope here is defined as that of the return of Rachel’s children to their own border—the return, that is, of the Ten Tribes from their captivity.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
16. Rather, "With fire will Jehovah judge, and with His sword (He will judge) all flesh." The parallelism and collocation of the Hebrew words favor this (Is 65:12).
**all flesh--**that is, all who are the objects of His wrath. The godly shall be hidden by the Lord in a place of safety away from the scene of judgment (Is 26:20, 21; Psa 31:20; 1Th 4:16, 17).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God.
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KJV Study Commentary
God depicts Ephraim (representing Israel) acknowledging God's discipline: 'Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke.' This agricultural metaphor describes an untrained ox resisting the yoke—bucking, fighting, refusing to submit. Israel had been like this, resisting God's good guidance. But now they cry, 'Turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art th...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) 1 **have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself.**—The prophet’s thoughts still dwell upon the exiles of the northern kingdom. They have been longer under the sharp discipline of suffering. By this time, he thinks, they must have learnt repentance. He hears—or Jehovah, speaking through him. hears—the moaning of remorse; and in that work, thought of as already accomplished, he finds a new grou...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**17. in ... gardens--**Hebrew and the Septuagint rather require, "for (entering into) gardens," namely, to sacrifice there [Maurer].
**behind one tree--**rather, "following one," that is, some idol or other, which, from contempt, he does not name [Maurer]. Vitringa, &c., think the Hebrew for "one," Ahhadh, to be the name of the god; called Adad (meaning One) in Syria (compare Ac 17:23). The...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.
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KJV Study Commentary
Ephraim continues his confession, describing the progression of repentance. 'After that I was turned, I repented'—the turning (conversion) precedes repentance. This reflects the ordo salutis (order of salvation): regeneration precedes repentance and faith. God must first give spiritual life before the dead sinner can respond. Then comes instruction—understanding the nature and severity of their si...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **After that I was turned.**—The words have been referred by some commentators (Hitzig) to the previous turning away from God—the apostasy of Ephraim; but the repetition of the word that had been used in the previous verse makes it far more natural to connect it with the first movement of repentance. The “smiting upon the thigh” is, like the Publican’s “smiting on his breast” (Luke 18:13), an...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**18. know--**not in the Hebrew. Rather, understand the words by aposiopesis; it is usual in threats to leave the persons threatened to supply the hiatus from their own fears, owing to conscious guilt: "For I ... their works and thoughts," &c.; namely, will punish [Maurer].
**it shall come--**the time is come that I will, &c. [Maurer].
**gather ... nations--**against Jerusalem, where t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the LORD. are: Heb. sound
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KJV Study Commentary
Despite pronouncing judgment on Ephraim, God's fatherly love remains. The rhetorical questions—'Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child?'—expect affirmative answers: Yes! Though God spoke against Ephraim in judgment, He earnestly remembers him still. The Hebrew intensifies this: <em>zakhor ezkerenu</em> (זָכֹר אֶזְכְּרֶנּוּ)—'remembering, I remember him'—emphasizing constant, affectionate r...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **Is Ephraim my dear son?***—*Literally, *a child of delight*—*i.e., *fondled and caressed.
**Is he a pleasant child?**—We have to ask whether an affirmative or negative answer is implied to these questions. On the former view, the words express the yearning of a father’s heart towards the son whom he still loves in spite of all his faults. Jehovah wonders, as it were, at his affection for on...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**19. sign--**a banner on a high place, to indicate the place of meeting for the dispersed Jewish exiles, preparatory to their return to their land (Is 5:26; 11:12; 62:10).
**those that escape of them--**the Gentile survivors spared by God (see on Is 66:18; Zec 14:16). Is 2:2, 3; Mi 5:7; and Zec 14:16-19 represent it, not that the Jews go as missionaries to the Gentiles, but that the Gentiles co...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities.</strong> This verse uses vivid imagery of marking a return path to call Israel to repentance and restoration. <strong>Set thee up waymarks</strong> (<em>natzav tsiyunim</em>, נַצְּבִי־לָךְ צִיֻּנִים) uses <em>tsiyun...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(21) **Set thee up way marks . . .**—It will be noted that the figure is changed, and that instead of “Ephraim, the dear son,” we have Israel, the “back-sliding daughter.” The idea of the return of the exiles is still prominent, and she, as represented by the first group of those who came back, is called on to set up “heaps of stones,” after the manner of Eastern travellers, as waymarks for those ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**20. they--**the Gentiles (Is 66:19).
**bring ... your brethren--**the Jews, back to the Holy Land (Is 49:22). It cannot mean the mere entrance of the Jews into the Christian Church; for such an entrance would be by faith, not upon "horses, litters, and mules" [Houbigant]. "Offering" is metaphorical, as in Ro 15:16.
**horses--**not much used by the Jews. The Gentiles are here represented as u...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man.</strong> This enigmatic verse challenges Israel's wavering and announces unprecedented divine action. <strong>How long wilt thou go about</strong> uses <em>chamaq</em> (חָמַק), meaning to turn away, wander aimlessly, or avoid. God confronts Israel's ind...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **How long wilt thou go about . . .?**—The word describes the restless pacing to and fro of impatient, unsatisfied desire. The backsliding daughter—*i.e., *the adulterous yet now penitent wife—is described, like Gomer in the parable or history of Hosea 2:7, as hesitating between her lovers and her husband.
**A woman shall compass a man.**—The verse is obscure, and has received very different ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**21. of them--**the Gentiles.
**priests ... Levites--**for spiritual worship: enjoying the direct access to God which was formerly enjoyed by the ministers of the temple alone (1Pe 2:9; Re 1:6).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity; The LORD bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness.
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KJV Study Commentary
God promises that Jerusalem and its surrounding cities will again pronounce a blessing over Zion: 'The LORD bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness.' The title 'habitation of justice' contrasts with the corrupt city that oppressed the poor and perverted justice. The restoration will not merely rebuild structures but establish righteousness. The 'mountain of holiness' refers t...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **As yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah . . .**—Better, *Once more, *or *yet again. *The phrase is the same as in Jeremiah 31:5. The eye of the prophet turns from the northern kingdom to that of Judah, and sees it also as a sharer in the restoration. Jerusalem should be blest, and be worthy of blessing—once more a faithful city, a holy mountain, righteousness dwelling in it (...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
22. (Is 65:17; 2Pe 3:13; Re 21:1).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities thereof together, husbandmen, and they that go forth with flocks.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities thereof together, husbandmen, and they that go forth with flocks.</strong> This verse concludes the vision of restoration that began in verse 23, painting a picture of agricultural prosperity and peaceful coexistence. The Hebrew <em>yashav</em> (יָשַׁב, dwell) signifies settled permanence, not temporary occupation—a secure dwelli...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **Husbandmen, and they that** **go forth with flocks.**—The prophet’s ideal of the restored life of Israel is that it should combine the best features of the patriarchal and the kingly life. A people pastoral, yet not nomadic—agricultural, yet sharing in the culture and safety of cities—this was the picture that rose up in Jeremiah’s thoughts, in sharp contrast to the facts that actually surr...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
23. Literally, "As often as the new moon (shall be) in its own new moon," that is, every month (Zec 14:16).
**sabbath--**which is therefore perpetually obligatory on earth.
**all flesh--**(Psa 65:2; 72:11).
**before me--**at Jerusalem (Jr 3:16, 17).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.
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KJV Study Commentary
God promises to satisfy ('satiate') the weary and replenish the sorrowful. The Hebrew <em>ravah</em> (רָוָה) means to drench, saturate, or satisfy abundantly—not merely meeting minimal needs but providing overflowing abundance. This addresses both physical weariness (from exile's hardships) and spiritual weariness (from sin's burden and separation from God). God promises comprehensive restoration ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **I have satiated the weary soul . . .**—Here again we note an instance of an anticipation of the thought, almost of the very language, of the Gospel, “The hungry and the thirsty” shall be “filled” (Matthew 5:6), the weary shall be refreshed (Matthew 11:28-29).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**24. go forth, and look--**as the Israelites looked at the carcasses of the Egyptians destroyed at the Red Sea (Ex 14:30; compare Is 26:14-19; Psa 58:10; 49:14; Mal 4:1-3).
**carcasses, &c.--**(Is 66:16), those slain by the Lord in the last great battle near Jerusalem (Zec 12:2-9; 14:2-4); type of the final destruction of all sinners.
**worm ... not die--**(Mr 9:44, 46, 48). Image of hell...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.</strong> This brief but profound verse records Jeremiah's response to the vision of restoration he received in verses 23-25. The phrase 'upon this I awaked' (<em>zot haqiytzoti</em>, זֹאת הֱקִיצֹתִי) indicates Jeremiah awoke from a prophetic dream-vision—a recognized mode of divine revelation (Numbers 12:6, Joel 2:28). The pro...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **Upon this I awaked . . .**—The words that follow have been very differently interpreted. By some writers (Rosenmüller) they have been referred to Jehovah under the figure of the husband who has dreamt of his wife’s return. Others (Ewald) have seen in them a quotation from some well-known psalm or hymn, like Psalm 17:15, indicating that in the golden days to which Jeremiah looked forward the...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET JEREMIAH
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast.</strong> God announces a new prophetic oracle with the standard formula 'the days come, saith the LORD' (<em>hineh yamim ba'im ne'um-YHWH</em>), marking a future divine intervention. The central image is agricultural: '<strong>I will sow</stron...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27) **I will sow the house of Israel . . .**—The same image of a fertile and happy population appears in Hosea 2:23; Zechariah 10:9; Ezekiel 36:9-11. It will be noted that it embraces both Israel and Judah, which had once been rivals, each watching the increase of the other with jealousy and suspicion.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the LORD.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the LORD.</strong> This verse establishes divine symmetry between judgment and restoration. The phrase 'I have watched over them' uses <em>shaqad</em> (שָׁקַד), meaning to be wakeful, vi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(28) **Like as I have watched over them . . .—**Some twenty-three years had passed since the prophet’s call to his office, but the words that called him to it are living still. The very symbolism of the “almond,” with the play upon its meaning, as the “wakeful” or “watching” tree (see Notes on Jeremiah 1:10-11), the very terms in which his two-fold work was painted, are present to his thoughts, ye...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
INTRODUCTION
Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah, one of the ordinary priests, dwelling in Anathoth of Benjamin (Jr 1:1), not the Hilkiah the high priest who discovered the book of the law (2Ki 22:8); had he been the same, the designation would have been "the priest", or "the high priest". Besides, his residence at Anathoth shows that he belonged to the line of Abiathar, who was deposed from the high pries...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge.
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KJV Study Commentary
This proverb reflected a fatalistic attitude: 'The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge.' The people claimed they were suffering for their ancestors' sins, not their own—essentially denying personal responsibility and blaming previous generations. God declares this excuse will no longer apply in the new covenant era. While it is true that sin has generational c...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(29, 30) **The fathers have eaten a sour grape . . .**—The proverb was one which, as we find from Ezekiel 18:2-3, had at this time come into common use. Men found in it an explanation of their sufferings which relieved their consciences. They were suffering, they said, for the sins of their fathers, not for their own. They distorted the words which, as asserting the continuity of national life, we...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2-3. Jehoiakim ... Josiah ... Zedekiah--**Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin are omitted for they reigned only three months each. The first and last of the kings under whom each prophet prophesied are often thus specified in the general title. See on these kings, and Jeremiah's life, my Introduction.
**thirteenth ... of his reign--**(Jr 25:3).
**fifth month--**(2Ki 25:8).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse explicitly states the principle implied in verse 29: individual accountability. 'Every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge'—the one who sins bears the consequences. This is basic justice: punishment falls on the guilty party. The Mosaic law established this principle (Deuteronomy 24:16), but the people had perverted it by claiming corporate guilt absolved indi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2-3. Jehoiakim ... Josiah ... Zedekiah--**Jehoahaz and Jehoiachin are omitted for they reigned only three months each. The first and last of the kings under whom each prophet prophesied are often thus specified in the general title. See on these kings, and Jeremiah's life, my Introduction.
**thirteenth ... of his reign--**(Jr 25:3).
**fifth month--**(2Ki 25:8).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse introduces Scripture's most significant Old Testament prophecy—the New Covenant. 'Behold, the days come, saith the LORD' uses hinneh (הִנֵּה, behold) commanding attention, followed by yamin ba'im (יָמִים בָּאִים, days are coming)—prophetic formula for future fulfillment. 'Saith the LORD' (neum-YHWH, נְאֻם־יְהוָה) establishes divine authority. 'That I will make a new covenant' uses the H...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(31) **I will make a new covenant . . .**—Both in itself, and as the germ of the future of the spiritual history of mankind, the words are of immense significance. It was to this that the Lord Jesus directed the thoughts of His disciples, as the prophecy which, above all other prophecies, He had come to fulfil by the sacrifice of Himself. In that “New Covenant” in His blood, which He solemnly proc...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
4-10. Jeremiah's call to the prophetical office.
**unto me--**other manuscripts read "to him"; but English Version probably represents the true Hebrew text; this inscription was doubtless made by Jeremiah himself.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: although: or, should I have continued an husband unto them?
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse specifies how the new covenant differs from the old: it is 'not according to' the Mosaic covenant made at Sinai. God identifies the problem with the old covenant: 'which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them.' The issue was not God's unfaithfulness (He remained the faithful husband) but Israel's unfaithfulness (they broke the covenant). The Mosaic covenant could co...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(32) **Not according to the covenant . . .**—Our familiarity with the words hinders us, for the most part, from recognising what must have seemed their exceeding boldness. That the Covenant with Israel, given with all conceivable sanctions as coming directly from Jehovah (Exodus 24:7-8), should thus be set aside, as man repeals an earthly law;—the man who could say this without trembling must inde...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
4-10. Jeremiah's call to the prophetical office.
**unto me--**other manuscripts read "to him"; but English Version probably represents the true Hebrew text; this inscription was doubtless made by Jeremiah himself.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse details the first characteristic of the New Covenant. 'But this shall be the covenant' contrasts with the old Mosaic covenant (v. 32). 'That I will make' emphasizes divine initiative—God establishes and guarantees this covenant. 'With the house of Israel' again emphasizes comprehensive scope. 'After those days' refers to the future fulfillment time. 'Saith the LORD' adds prophetic autho...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(33) **This shall be** **the covenant . . .**—The prophet felt that nothing less than this would meet the wants of the time, or, indeed, of any time. The experiment, so to speak, of a law requiring righteousness had been tried and had failed. There remained the hope—now, by the Divine word that came to him, turned into an assurance—of a Power imparting righteousness, writing the “law in the inward...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
4-10. Jeremiah's call to the prophetical office.
**unto me--**other manuscripts read "to him"; but English Version probably represents the true Hebrew text; this inscription was doubtless made by Jeremiah himself.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse describes the relational intimacy and comprehensive forgiveness of the New Covenant. 'And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother' uses lamad (לָמַד, teach), referring to basic instruction about knowing God. The promise isn't that teaching ceases entirely but that universal, direct knowledge of God will characterize New Covenant believers. 'Saying, Kn...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(34) **They shall teach no more every man his neighbour . . .**—We trace in that hope for the future the profound sense of failure which oppressed the mind of the prophet, as it has oppressed the minds of many true teachers since. What good had come of all the machinery of ritual and of teaching which the Law of Israel had provided so abundantly? Those repeated exhortations on the part of preacher...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
4-10. Jeremiah's call to the prophetical office.
**unto me--**other manuscripts read "to him"; but English Version probably represents the true Hebrew text; this inscription was doubtless made by Jeremiah himself.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:
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KJV Study Commentary
God appeals to the fixed order of creation—sun by day, moon and stars by night, the sea's waves—to guarantee His covenant promises. These natural laws are utterly reliable; the sun rises every morning without fail. God stakes His covenant faithfulness on this same certainty. As long as these ordinances remain (which is forever), Israel will remain a nation before God. This is an unconditional prom...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(35, 36) **Which giveth the sun for a light by day . . .**—The leading thought in the lofty language of this passage is that the reign of law which we recognise in God’s creative work has its counterpart in His spiritual kingdom. The stability and permanence of natural order is a pledge and earnest of the fulfilment of His promises to Israel as a people. The new Covenant of pardon and illumination...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
4-10. Jeremiah's call to the prophetical office.
**unto me--**other manuscripts read "to him"; but English Version probably represents the true Hebrew text; this inscription was doubtless made by Jeremiah himself.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.
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KJV Study Commentary
This verse completes the thought from verse 35: only if the sun, moon, and stars cease their courses will Israel cease to be a nation before God. This is an impossibility—therefore Israel's continuation is certain. The phrase 'seed of Israel' refers to the covenant people, the descendants of Jacob. God promises their perpetual existence, regardless of human unfaithfulness or historical catastrophe...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
4-10. Jeremiah's call to the prophetical office.
**unto me--**other manuscripts read "to him"; but English Version probably represents the true Hebrew text; this inscription was doubtless made by Jeremiah himself.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>If heaven above can be measured</strong> (אִם־יִמַּדּוּ שָׁמַיִם מִלְמַעְלָה)—God stakes Israel's security on physical impossibilities. The verb <em>madad</em> (מָדַד, to measure) appears in creation contexts—God 'measured' the waters in His hand (Isaiah 40:12). The parallel structure intensifies: measuring the immeasurable heavens, searching out unsearchable <strong>foundations of the ear...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(37) **If heaven above can be measured . . .**—The thought of the preceding verse is reproduced with a slight modification of meaning. Over and above the idea, as stated above, that the stability of nature is a parable of the steadfastness of God’s laws and purposes in the spiritual world, there is implied a feeling, like that of Romans 11:33, that man’s finite intellect cannot fathom His modes of...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
4-10. Jeremiah's call to the prophetical office.
**unto me--**other manuscripts read "to him"; but English Version probably represents the true Hebrew text; this inscription was doubtless made by Jeremiah himself.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The city shall be built to the LORD</strong> (תִּבָּנֶה הָעִיר לַיהוָה)—Jerusalem's reconstruction is <em>la-YHWH</em>, 'belonging to the LORD,' marking it as holy space, not merely civic restoration. The Hebrew <em>banah</em> (built) contrasts with earlier 'plucked up and thrown down' (v. 40, echoing 1:10). Specific landmarks—<strong>the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner</stro...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(38) **From the tower of Hananeel unto the gate** **of the corner.**—There seems to us something almost like an anti-climax in this sudden transition from the loftiest Gospel promises to the obscure localities of the ancient Jerusalem. With Jeremiah, however, as before with Isaiah (Isaiah 65:17-25), and on a much larger scale with Ezekiel (Ezekiel 40-48), this was the natural outgrowth of the vivi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11. rod--**shoot, or branch.
**almond tree--**literally, "the wakeful tree," because it awakes from the sleep of winter earlier than the other trees, flowering in January, and bearing fruit in March; symbol of God's early execution of His purpose; Jr 1:12, "hasten My word" (compare Am 8:3).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The measuring line shall yet go forth</strong> (יֵצֵא קְוֵה־הַמִּדָּה, yetse qeveh-hamiddah)—the surveyor's cord extends the sacred boundary. In ancient Near Eastern contexts, <em>qav</em> (line) marked both construction (1 Kings 7:23) and destruction (2 Kings 21:13, Lamentations 2:8). Here it signifies restoration, reclaiming land once measured for judgment.<br><br><strong>The hill Gareb<...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(39) **The hill Gareb . . .**—Neither of the two localities named is mentioned elsewhere, and their position is accordingly simply matter for conjecture. The name of the first, as signifying “the leper’s hill” (the term being one that includes leprosy as well as other skin-diseases, Leviticus 21:20; Leviticus 22:22), indicates probably a position outside the walls assigned as a dwelling to persons...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12. hasten--**rather, "I will be wakeful as to My word," &c.; alluding to Jr 1:11, "the wakeful tree" [Maurer].
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>The whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes</strong> (כָּל־הָעֵמֶק הַפְּגָרִים וְהַדֶּשֶׁן)—areas of ritual impurity become consecrated. <em>Pegarim</em> (corpses, פְּגָרִים) and <em>deshen</em> (ashes, דֶּשֶׁן, specifically sacrificial ashes) marked the valley of Hinnom (Gehenna) and the ash dump east of the city as ceremonially unclean (Leviticus 4:12). God declares these space...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(40) **The whole valley of the** **dead bodies . . .**—We have to think of this city as Jeremiah saw it during the horrors of the siege—the lower part, the “plain” or “valley” of the city, the valley of Hinnom (comp. Jeremiah 19:11), filled with corpses lying unburied in the streets (Lamentations 2:21; Lamentations 4:9), the “ashes” of burnt and shattered houses encumbering the streets with their ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
13. Another vision, signifying what is the "word" about to be "performed," and by what instrumentality.
**seething--**literally, "blown under"; so boiling by reason of the flame under it kept brisk by blowing. An Oriental symbol of a raging war.
**toward--**rather, "from the north." Literally, "from the face of the region situated towards the north" (compare Jr 1:14, 15) [Maurer]. The pot in t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 31
The sin and folly of seeking help from Egypt. (Is. 31:1-5) God's care for Jerusalem. (Is. 31:6-9)
**Verses 1-5** God will oppose the help sought from workers of iniquity. Sinners may be convicted of folly by plain and self-evident truths, which they cannot deny, but will not believe. There is no escaping the judgments of God; and evil pursues sinners. The Lord of hosts will come d...
Read full commentary →